Vic Mackey

The Shield has shocked and delighted audiences for almost seven years. You ain't seen nothing yet, according to the people who make the FX police drama. The final season, which launches Tuesday, is a preamble to the ultimate resolution of a question that has captivated viewers since the pilot on March 12, 2002: How will it all end for renegade detective Vic Mackey? Retribution has been in demand since the character Michael Chiklis, interpreted into cable's first lead actor Emmy winner, put a bullet into the brain of a colleague, who threatened to bring down Vic and his band of rogue detectives.

Dark Blue clearly aspires to be TNT's answer to The Shield. The parallels between the self-consciously gritty cop dramas are unmistakable. The pilot opens with a grotesque torture scene evocative of Michael Chiklis, as Vic Mackey, jamming a suspect's face onto red hot burners in The Shield premiere. Dylan McDermott is the Vic Mackey of this piece, the leader of an elite band of undercover detectives, whose successes have earned them extraordinary freedom from departmental oversight, a privilege they routinely abuse.

Dark Blue clearly aspires to be TNT's answer to The Shield. The parallels between the self-consciously gritty cop dramas are unmistakable. The pilot opens with a grotesque torture scene evocative of Michael Chiklis, as Vic Mackey, jamming a suspect's face onto red hot burners in The Shield premiere. Dylan McDermott is the Vic Mackey of this piece, the leader of an elite band of undercover detectives, whose successes have earned them extraordinary freedom from departmental oversight, a privilege they routinely abuse.

Vic Mackey's journey to the dark side ends without Journey. Shawn Ryan, creator of The Shield, promises that, unlike The Sopranos, when his series wraps up tonight there will be no ambiguity about the fates of his characters - especially Mackey. Ever since Vic stunned audiences in the pilot by putting a bullet between the eyes of a fellow detective who was a threat to Vic's freewheeling, lawless ways, there has been speculation about what, if any, retribution Vic and his men would suffer.

What the world needs now is not a female Vic Mackey. But this is what it will be getting on the fourth season of The Shield. The nastiest cop show on TV has gotten even better. Michael Chiklis is already an Emmy winner as renegade detective Vic Mackey. This season Vic gets a new boss, Capt. Monica Rawlings, played by five-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close. The norm would have these two going at each other like Simon and Paula. But The Shield disdains the safe and familiar, which is why it's one of TV's sparkling gems.

Vic Mackey's journey to the dark side ends without Journey. Shawn Ryan, creator of The Shield, promises that, unlike The Sopranos, when his series wraps up tonight there will be no ambiguity about the fates of his characters - especially Mackey. Ever since Vic stunned audiences in the pilot by putting a bullet between the eyes of a fellow detective who was a threat to Vic's freewheeling, lawless ways, there has been speculation about what, if any, retribution Vic and his men would suffer.

Classical CZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA: The venerable Czech ensemble will pay tribute to Antonin Dvorak with a program devoted entirely to music of their country's greatest composer, in this 100th anniversary year of Dvorak's death. Conductor Andrey Boreyko will lead the orchestra in Dvorak's most popular work, the Symphony No. 9, From the New World. The program will also include the Bohemian composer's Violin Concerto, performed by soloist Akiko Suwanai, and selections from Dvorak's tuneful Slavonic Dances.

Growing up in North Miami, Cathy Cahlin Ryan never imagined that one day she would have children with the husband of her best friend or that she would sleep with the producer who cast her in her first TV role. This isn't a tabloid expose. Everything is on the up and up. Ryan plays the wife of Vic Mackey and the mother of his children on The Shield. Michael Chiklis, who stars as the renegade detective, is married in real life to Ryan's longtime pal Michelle. They've been friends since Sabal Palm Elementary School.

By Tom Jicha TVRadio Writer and By Kate O'Hare Zap2it.com, May 14, 2002

Michael Chiklis is the personification of the expression, "Go figure." Two years ago, he was in a hot new comedy, Daddio, on NBC's Must See Thursday, TV's most heavily trafficked night. It got him nothing but a spate of bad reviews and, a year later, a pink slip in the wake of a change at the top of the NBC Entertainment Division. He resurfaced this spring in The Shield, a police drama with about one-quarter the number of viewers as Daddio, on FX, an off-the-beaten-track location on basic cable.

The Shield is coming full circle, a bittersweet development for fans of the searing drama that established FX as a cable network to be taken seriously. The fifth season will be dominated by a revisit to the shocking assassination of an undercover detective in the series premiere. Four episodes provided for review are as gripping as any the extraordinary series has done. Alas, they are a prelude to the series conclusion. The end is not near, but it is on the horizon. The Shield is in the process of producing 21 episodes.

The Shield has shocked and delighted audiences for almost seven years. You ain't seen nothing yet, according to the people who make the FX police drama. The final season, which launches Tuesday, is a preamble to the ultimate resolution of a question that has captivated viewers since the pilot on March 12, 2002: How will it all end for renegade detective Vic Mackey? Retribution has been in demand since the character Michael Chiklis, interpreted into cable's first lead actor Emmy winner, put a bullet into the brain of a colleague, who threatened to bring down Vic and his band of rogue detectives.

The finest series in the history of premium cable (if not all TV) played a significant role in the existence of what might be the best crime drama ever on basic cable. "I don't think The Shield would be on the air without The Sopranos," said Shawn Ryan, executive producer of the FX series. "The Sopranos opened the door in terms of FX, when it was a fledgling network, making its only show at that time one that centered on a deeply flawed character. Our show is distinctly different from The Sopranos, but I don't think we'd be on the air if that show hadn't been on and such a success."

The Shield is coming full circle, a bittersweet development for fans of the searing drama that established FX as a cable network to be taken seriously. The fifth season will be dominated by a revisit to the shocking assassination of an undercover detective in the series premiere. Four episodes provided for review are as gripping as any the extraordinary series has done. Alas, they are a prelude to the series conclusion. The end is not near, but it is on the horizon. The Shield is in the process of producing 21 episodes.

What the world needs now is not a female Vic Mackey. But this is what it will be getting on the fourth season of The Shield. The nastiest cop show on TV has gotten even better. Michael Chiklis is already an Emmy winner as renegade detective Vic Mackey. This season Vic gets a new boss, Capt. Monica Rawlings, played by five-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close. The norm would have these two going at each other like Simon and Paula. But The Shield disdains the safe and familiar, which is why it's one of TV's sparkling gems.

Glenn Close has never done a TV series. The reason, it turns out, is TV's inferiority complex: It was assumed that an actress of her stature wouldn't deign to do weekly TV. Close has done exemplary work on the small screen -- a trio of Sarah: Plain and Tall films and the ground-breaking Something About Amelia -- so she's baffled as to why TV producers considered her unapproachable. "I have a huge respect for television. I refuse to be a snob about it. As an actor, I go where great writing is."

The Shield didn't get the memo about TV having to run scared for a while. The award-winning FX cop show, which broke new ground for the gritty and grotesque on commercially supported television in its first two seasons, pushes the boundaries even further in season three. There are scenes that would be shocking even on The Sopranos. The Shield is as good as TV drama gets this side of The Sopranos. Indeed, the only season in the past four that James Gandolfini didn't take home the best actor Emmy, because The Sopranos was on hiatus, Michael Chiklis did. Chiklis continues to amaze as Vic Mackey, a cop whose moral compass doesn't have a true north.

The Shield didn't get the memo about TV having to run scared for a while. The award-winning FX cop show, which broke new ground for the gritty and grotesque on commercially supported television in its first two seasons, pushes the boundaries even further in season three. There are scenes that would be shocking even on The Sopranos. The Shield is as good as TV drama gets this side of The Sopranos. Indeed, the only season in the past four that James Gandolfini didn't take home the best actor Emmy, because The Sopranos was on hiatus, Michael Chiklis did. Chiklis continues to amaze as Vic Mackey, a cop whose moral compass doesn't have a true north.

The finest series in the history of premium cable (if not all TV) played a significant role in the existence of what might be the best crime drama ever on basic cable. "I don't think The Shield would be on the air without The Sopranos," said Shawn Ryan, executive producer of the FX series. "The Sopranos opened the door in terms of FX, when it was a fledgling network, making its only show at that time one that centered on a deeply flawed character. Our show is distinctly different from The Sopranos, but I don't think we'd be on the air if that show hadn't been on and such a success."

Classical CZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA: The venerable Czech ensemble will pay tribute to Antonin Dvorak with a program devoted entirely to music of their country's greatest composer, in this 100th anniversary year of Dvorak's death. Conductor Andrey Boreyko will lead the orchestra in Dvorak's most popular work, the Symphony No. 9, From the New World. The program will also include the Bohemian composer's Violin Concerto, performed by soloist Akiko Suwanai, and selections from Dvorak's tuneful Slavonic Dances.

Growing up in North Miami, Cathy Cahlin Ryan never imagined that one day she would have children with the husband of her best friend or that she would sleep with the producer who cast her in her first TV role. This isn't a tabloid expose. Everything is on the up and up. Ryan plays the wife of Vic Mackey and the mother of his children on The Shield. Michael Chiklis, who stars as the renegade detective, is married in real life to Ryan's longtime pal Michelle. They've been friends since Sabal Palm Elementary School.